Hurricane Beryl Forces Closure of Texas Ports, Halts Rail Operations
Hurricane Beryl made landfall in Texas early Monday morning, leaving more than 1 million homes and businesses without power in the hours after and shuttering major ports on the state’s coastline.
The ports of Houston, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Freeport and Texas City said they closed after condition “Zulu” was set by Coast Guard captains on Sunday. All vessel movement and cargo operations are restricted as gale force winds of 39 to 54 miles per hour were expected within 12 hours of the designation.
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While port condition Zulu is in place, no vessels can enter or transit through the port without the permission of the Coast Guard.
Port Houston is the largest of the Texas hubs, driving $439 billion of economic activity in the state, or nearly 20 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) and $906 billion in economic impact across the U.S. The port, which handles the fifth-most 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers in the U.S., said it will continue to monitor the weather closely and will provide an update no later than 12 pm Central Time on Monday about Tuesday’s operations.
The 52-mile Houston ship channel, which on Sunday operated under transit restrictions before halting all traffic, allows access to eight public facilities and roughly 200 private terminals.
Beryl’s impact could be felt the most in the energy sector, namely oil and natural gas, with Texas being a substantial producer of both compounds. Corpus Christi, Texas City and Freeport are all major shipping hubs for oil, so closures bring a halt to crude exports, as well as shipments to refineries.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the hurricane made landfall near the coastal town of Matagorda, Texas, about 85 miles south-southwest of Houston, packing maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
Ports aren’t the only logistics hubs that have been forced to shutter as the storm approaches.
Two Class I railroads in the Houston area, Union Pacific and BNSF Railway, temporarily halted some operations in affected areas Monday.
UP said it suspended operations beginning Sunday evening on the southern Texas coast between Angleton and Brownsville, and plans to keep through Monday evening.
On Sunday, BNSF began restricting operations in its Houston Complex, which spans 60 square miles and includes five rail yards. Ingates at BNSF Pearland Intermodal Facility in Houston are no longer being accepted.
BNSF stopped operating trains south of its railyards in Temple and Teague, both into the Houston region and through the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway. The yard closures and ingate restrictions are expected to remain in place until 12 pm Central Time on Monday.
Both rail operators said in statements that they established preparations for potential outages. This includes activating around-the-clock command centers, as well pre-positioning track equipment and supplies, including fuel cells, generators and rail ballast, at various locations to address any impacts to the network as power outages and flooding are expected. Meanwhile, UP said water pumps had been strategically positioned to mitigate damage.
BNSF said customers with shipments expected to move through the Houston region should expect delays and extended transit times over the next several days.
FedEx posted an update Friday saying it was closely monitoring the hurricane, with delays and disruptions expected for inbound and outbound shipments in the affected region across southeast Texas.
“Contingency plans are in place, and we are prepared to provide the best possible service as conditions allow,” FedEx said in the notice, noting that it would continue working to minimize the impact on service.
Beryl already hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula on Friday and Saturday, resulting in delays for both pickups and deliveries for international and domestic services in the states of Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Campeche and some areas in Tabasco, FedEx said.
UPS told Sourcing Journal it was closely monitoring the situation, and that Hurricane Beryl may impact local deliveries “in some areas” Monday.
Less-than-truckload (LTL) freight and transportation services provider XPO said its Houston and West Houston terminals are closed Monday, with no pickup and delivery service available at the locations.
XPO is providing limited pickup and delivery service as conditions allow at three impacted Texas-based terminals in Corpus Christi, Victoria and Bryan.
Delays are possible for freight originating in, destined for or traveling through these locations throughout the duration of the storm, XPO said.